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Canada got the last hurrah at the Celebration of Light Saturday evening, closing the three-night event with a winning display. Canada was declared the winner of the event, with Brazil and China finishing second and third, respectively.

“We had forecast between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors (in the first year of operations) and we’re well on track to exceed that,” Dunn said of the $25-million project, which opened May 16 and carries visitors nearly 900 metres above sea level. “We think we’ll do better than that by 30 to 40 per cent.”

He wouldn’t release actual visitor numbers.

Dunn said the attraction had to hire additional staff — bringing their employee count to 130 — as well as take on 14 volunteers from Squamish. Lengthy waits in the first two weeks have been largely rectified due to such practices as utilizing gondolas more efficiently and better queuing procedures, he said.

An extensive trail system at the top of the gondola was used for the Skyline Ridge Run, 17-kilometre and 10-kilometre races organized by Squamish endurance athlete Jen Segger that attracted about 200 runners. “It went off without a hitch and was very popular. We have some spectacular trails for hiking and trail running, so we’re keen to expand that.”

He said the gondola is also starting to host yoga classes and plans to expand that.

“We’ve started off on the summer solstice with yoga up top, and we’re looking at continuing that. Both our yoga classes were sold out. We have some of the best decks in Canada and to be able to offer different activities like yoga is something people are interested in.”

Dunn said that while the bulk of visitors are from Metro Vancouver, they’re getting people from all over the world, including Europe, Africa, South America and Asia.

The gondola is located two kilometres south of Squamish on the Sea to Sky Highway. At the crest, there’s a 9,000-square-foot summit lodge with a 6,000 square-foot-deck, restaurant and gift shop, along with the Sky Pilot suspension bridge, and access to 30 kilometres of trails including two kilometres of “stroller-ready” trails leading to several viewing decks and lookouts. There’s also the Sea to Summit Trail from the base of the gondola to the crest (a three- to four-hour hike).